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Malicious Program Compromises Database of Maine’s Voter Registration

According to Maine Secretary of State Charlie Summers, a potentially harmful malware has infected one town office's computer system, taking under its control the Central Voter Registration software. The PC is equipped for having admission into Maine's central voter data, adds Summers. WABI reported this on August 24, 2011.

Summers continued that during one regular security check of the computers and networks inside his office, it was discovered that one PC, which one of the town clerks used in reality had a malicious program. That program subsequently managed to gain admission into Central Voter Registration. However, security experts were investigating for finding out whether any information had been breached, Summers added.

Meanwhile, Summers turned down giving the Maine town office's name, the place-of-origin of the breach till the time his office knew the situation's details, as also if other town offices' PCs were similarly hijacked. Nevertheless, as per Summers, anybody who registered for exercising his right-to-vote provided information such as own name, home address, maybe driver's license too, and the like, while all these were stored inside a particular computer.

Also according to him, following the discovery of the breach, he instantly took action for closing the contaminated PC as well as deactivating the password and username the clerk at the town office used for operating the affected computer. Summers estimates that approximately 700,000 Maine citizens' registration details are on that PC.

Additionally Summers said that he wished to tell all Mainers about preliminary findings of the investigation as well as promise them that suitable measures had been and would keep on being adopted for safeguarding all personal details stored inside the Central Voter Registration. Maine Politics reported this on August 25, 2011.

Importantly, as per the security researchers, it's possible that the hacked data will get utilized for phishing via dispatch of fake, enticing e-mails. Thus, Summers cautions the public against trusting such e-mails alternatively sharing their private details electronically. These messages may as well lure users into following given web-links that could infect their computers with malware. Eventually, Summers said that his officials firmly doubted that the hackers accessed any information.